Origins: On 26 February 2015, a rumor started circulating via Twitter that singer Mark McGrath had passed away at the age of 46. The rumor stemmed from a bizarre press release that claimed the Sugar Ray frontman had been shot and killed by a masked gunman on the set of the Adult Swim show Hot Package:

The press release may have looked authentic, but it was actually just another celebrity death hoax. First, McGrath’s supposed death suspiciously coincided with the second season premiere of the Adult Swim show Hot Package. Second, the show had already wrapped up production for that season months prior to McGrath’s putative on-set death.

Not only was the press release a hoax, it was a publicity stunt for the show’s season premiere. While Mark McGrath is slated to appear on Hot Package this season, the Sugar Ray singer insisted that he had nothing to do with the fake press release:

Final word on the death hoax thing, I knew nothing about it and found out the same time you did…sorry about any confusion